Tai Chi

[Rake]

I'v recently been seeing Tai Chi everywhere in films, books, Tv programs etc etc. So i'm intrigued does anyone on the forums practice Tai Chi?. What's the benefits? What's the point of Tai Chi?.

Anyone with detailed answers get's a gold star!

[bosphorus]

I'v recently been seeing Tai Chi everywhere in films, books, Tv programs etc etc. So i'm intrigued does anyone on the forums practice Tai Chi?. What's the benefits? What's the point of Tai Chi?.

Anyone with detailed answers get's a gold star!

a wiki page about tai chi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Chi

[Unbound]

I practice a sort of cross-form of Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Both are internal martial arts usually utilizing slow, conscious movements and breathing techniques. What makes them internal martial arts is that both have a major focus on "ki/chi" (hence tai chi) which is "life force energy" or the vital energy of the body. The various internal practices of Tai Chi and Qi Gong are meant to "cultivate" this energy by creating circulations around/through the body and using the physical movements to direct energy and open up the energy channels of the body. It is believed that by continuously practicing and becoming aware of one's ki it can be made stronger and more potent, thus increasing the power and stability of the individual as well as then providing a source of energy to do good works (as many of these kinds of techniques are also connected to mythologies/buddhism).

Qi Gong basically means "energy work" and to me is an eastern form of "magic" essentially. Breathing is a huge and important part of Qi Gong as well as Tai Chi although Tai Chi has a bit more focus on the movements of the body and the martial aspect.

The advanced forms of Qi Gong make use of "internal alchemy" which is said to eventually lead to many sorts of abilities and powers much in the same way as the Yogis.

[Bring4th_Austin]

There are different types of Tai Chi, many of them meant to be taught as a martial art. It's my understanding that the point of the slow movement with which Tai Chi is taught and practiced is to build muscle memory so the movements may be executed with speed when needed. I've heard from martial arts experts that Tai Chi is rather ineffective against other types of martial arts. This makes me think that even this type of Tai Chi is taught and practiced more as a discipline and for the purposes Tanner highlights rather than actual self-defense, though it is taught as self-defense.

But Taoist Tai Chi, one of the most prominent types of Tai Chi, is not intended to be learned or taught as a method of self-defense but rather as an exercise of the body utilizing Taoist principles in the movement.

Taoist Tai Chi is very simple, easy to learn, and the benefits are significant. It consists of only one set of movements which is normally done from beginning to end. There are not other katas or sequences to be learned...simply one sequence of 108 moves (many repeats) that are memorized in a several-month-long beginner class and then refined and perfected in continuing classes. I have taken the beginning class, though I did not make it through the entire set. I have started twice and made it about 2/3rds of the way through both times. I didn't keep up the practice because my time was limited, and I had to make the decision between keeping up an exercise habit of more intensive cardio or continue on with the Tai Chi. I really wanted to exercise to burn through some energy and the Tai Chi was simply not enough to do that, though from what I understand, in the continuing classes they may do the entire set 2 or 3 times at a fast pace and this will be a rather intense cardio workout. I just wasn't getting what I wanted from the beginner courses.

I became interested in Taoist Tai Chi in order to learn about balances within my body as I learn about balances within my mind. I was interested in becoming more aware of my personal chi, and wanted to gain some discipline of my body as I have been disciplining my mind. I also thought it would be a great way to exercise patience and determination.

I felt very positive effects in my body as we got further into the set and I was really stretching, turning, and twisting all of my muscles going through various movements. I could tell that it increased my circulation significantly. The comfort of stretching and twisting all of my muscles and joints increased each time I did the set.

There was a set designed for people who are wheelchair bound or have other limitations, and my instructor had many miracle stories of people who found themselves able to move in ways that had been deemed impossible by medical professionals, and increase their quality of life. The local Taoist Tai Chi Society branch was participating in a university study of people paralyzed from the waste down to further study these effects. I personally believe it had to do with the increase in flow of the chi that Tanner is describing. I think this chi is naturally healing and offers a healthy configuration to our bodies, so increasing our personal flow of chi would naturally heal ailments.

Unfortunately, we didn't learn anything about the chi in the classes. I'm not sure if it's even discussed within Taoist Tai Chi, as the set was developed mainly as a physical exercise for physical benefits and the spiritual aspect seemed sort of auxiliary. Had we learned about chi and what was happening with our internal energy as we did these exercises, I probably would have been more willing to sacrifice cardio workouts to continue on with the classes.

The organization which teaches Taoist Tai Chi is great. It is an international non-profit that only asks for donations as payment for learning. Once a member, you can visit any Taoist Tai Chi Society center in the world and practice Tai Chi with them. They are rather straight-forward in their request for funds and ask for monthly contributions, but their goal is to teach Taoist Tai Chi to everyone who wants to learn, despite their financial situation. They are completely volunteer based, and the instructors are paid nothing, yet the instructors I interacted with were very enthusiastic and believed strongly in what they were doing.

I would definitely recommend Taoist Tai Chi to anyone who is interested. The physical benefits are obvious once you get past a few classes and learn enough of the set to really start accessing your muscles. It's peaceful and serene and really helps you feel your body and the energy within it. Don't expect the spiritual aspect to be highlighted or discussed, but if you wish, I'm sure all of the body lessons you learn from doing Taoist Tai Chi will help to inform your mind and spirit lessons as well.

[Rake]

Thanks for the response guys.

Tanner do you practice at home? is there any good sources on youtube?

I'v had a look but haven't' found something that has felt right.

[Unbound]

Thanks for the response guys.

Tanner do you practice at home? is there any good sources on youtube?

I'v had a look but haven't' found something that has felt right.

I am not sure about youtube as I haven't looked but there are some great books available that cover many of the ideas that are part of it although the most recommended path is to find a teacher. I do just practice at home but I have sort of my own style and method I am working through so I can't say I have any real authority on the traditional practices, I just make use of many of the concepts and see many parallels in my own natural techniques and those of these practices.

[Bring4th_Austin]

Thanks for the response guys.

Tanner do you practice at home? is there any good sources on youtube?

I'v had a look but haven't' found something that has felt right.

I am not sure about youtube as I haven't looked but there are some great books available that cover many of the ideas that are part of it although the most recommended path is to find a teacher. I do just practice at home but I have sort of my own style and method I am working through so I can't say I have any real authority on the traditional practices, I just make use of many of the concepts and see many parallels in my own natural techniques and those of these practices.

I think that our bodies have a great capacity to communicate to us effective methods for this type of practice.

Not long ago I was experiencing some serious hip and back pains. I intuitively determined that the best way to heal the pains was intensive stretching. I didn't do any kind of research on the best stretching methods - I would simply lay on my floor every morning and night and just allow my body to tell me how to move to help heal the pain. I discovered new ways to stretch muscles and joints and after a couple months, my pains were gone completely.

I noticed near the end, as my methods had developed more fully with each stretching sessions, that a lot of what I was doing seemed to be similar to yoga. I did a bit of research to see how similar my own stretches were to yoga stances and I was shocked at the similarities. Without watching any videos or having any instruction, my body was able to naturally find these different stances taught by yoga instructors, and it put my body back into a healthy configuration.

I think that learning from an instructor or master can be beneficial as it helps to have live feedback, and it is probably more motivating when you are in a teacher/student relationship. But if desired, I think that if we request of our bodies to intuitively show us the best practices for us, it will guide us to whatever movements we need to get a desired result.

[Rake]

Thanks for the response guys.

Tanner do you practice at home? is there any good sources on youtube?

I'v had a look but haven't' found something that has felt right.

I am not sure about youtube as I haven't looked but there are some great books available that cover many of the ideas that are part of it although the most recommended path is to find a teacher. I do just practice at home but I have sort of my own style and method I am working through so I can't say I have any real authority on the traditional practices, I just make use of many of the concepts and see many parallels in my own natural techniques and those of these practices.

I think that our bodies have a great capacity to communicate to us effective methods for this type of practice.

Not long ago I was experiencing some serious hip and back pains. I intuitively determined that the best way to heal the pains was intensive stretching. I didn't do any kind of research on the best stretching methods - I would simply lay on my floor every morning and night and just allow my body to tell me how to move to help heal the pain. I discovered new ways to stretch muscles and joints and after a couple months, my pains were gone completely.

I noticed near the end, as my methods had developed more fully with each stretching sessions, that a lot of what I was doing seemed to be similar to yoga. I did a bit of research to see how similar my own stretches were to yoga stances and I was shocked at the similarities. Without watching any videos or having any instruction, my body was able to naturally find these different stances taught by yoga instructors, and it put my body back into a healthy configuration.

I think that learning from an instructor or master can be beneficial as it helps to have live feedback, and it is probably more motivating when you are in a teacher/student relationship. But if desired, I think that if we request of our bodies to intuitively show us the best practices for us, it will guide us to whatever movements we need to get a desired result.

I just finished reading the Quo dialogues don't they advocate just randomly dancing?. Intuitively just letting the body move in the way it needs and wants too.

I think some initial lessons would be beneficial for me to have a set time and place to do it. I find it hard to do such things at home currently living with 3 other people who aren't so like minded.

[AnthroHeart]

There was one time when I was so full of unbalanced energy I had to dance randomly and shake off the excess energy. It was freaky because I was scared I was being overtaken by this, and it was affecting my mind.